Help me Rogers snare aficionados, you’re my only hope!

Well-known member

I’ve been looking at this Rogers snare at a pawn shop. I’ve done research on Rogers snares, but I’m stuck and I’m looking for some additional insight from you beautiful bastards.

1. The whole look and name plate looks like it would be in the ‘64-‘69 era. However, it really just looks pretty new and has no new internal or external indication of a serial number or assembly facility.

2. Even presuming it’s not a vintage, which wouldn’t necessarily bother me at all, any ideas on a reasonable price to pay for it? Aside from needing a tuning, it has a good full sound to it, all the parts are in good condition, and I love the finish. The shop wants $240 for it and I don’t know if that’s a steal or if I should wait them out until they drop the price considerably.

Senior Member

I'm definitely not a Rogers expert, but after a cursory search on Reverb this looks like a frankendrum. The lugs look familiar but I don't recall ever seeing them on a Rogers before. Also the vent hole and butt plate might be newer.

Again, I'm not an expert though, maybe someone else can chime in. You should upload the pictures to imgur.com first, then post the URL from imgur into the Insert Image prompt. That will make them much bigger.

Silver Member

*Digression*- not necessarily. Taking pics with a higher resolution will make them bigger. Linking from a photo hosting site won't enlarge them; a pic's size is what it is. Drummerworld.com itself might, due to being linked from somewhere.

Silver Member

Yep. I worked in retail around this time (But not at a Brook Mays store). It's an Asian stencil kit drum. Might not even be maple, as alluded to on that other forum linked above. Rogers in brand name only. I'm betting the pawn shop either doesn't know it's not a "real" Rogers, or is banking on you (any customer) not knowing it.

Well-known member

Yep. I worked in retail around this time (But not at a Brook Mays store). It's an Asian stencil kit drum. Might not even be maple, as alluded to on that other forum linked above. Rogers in brand name only. I'm betting the pawn shop either doesn't know it's not a "real" Rogers, or is banking on you (any customer) not knowing it.

Platinum Member

And that there is the beauty of pawn shops. I go pawn shopping quite a bit, and have found that if something is way overpriced because they don't know, if you can prove the price is wrong they will work with you. And that works both ways. I've talked prices down with information, and gotten more $$$ from items sold (usually guitars) because they just don't know what something really is.